One Sole Purpose
by Space Roamer
Summary: Apollo, A Spartan created in Great Secrecy, along with a Top Secret Ship armed with a Drone Army is lost to the Perils of space. Apollo crash lands on a world in there age of castles and knights. Confronting new enemies, Apollo does what he was created to do, defend the helpless and innocent.
1. Chapter 1

"Remember, You Aren't a killer Apollo, You will be a savior."

There was a Hard Jerk that Yanked Apollo off the Helm. Apollo awoke as he landed on his knees and caught himself with the Ship Control Console. He looked out the Bridge window. "Ship Has been yanked out of the Hyper Bubble" Omega yelled into Apollo's Helmet. He barely heard the AI as the ship groaned and creaked under the intense force of the bubbles shock wave. "Were on a crash course to an Earth Analogue type planet, Ship Main Thrusters are unresponsive to commands, Inertia dampeners have failed, Ship Correctional thrusters are online but it's going to take me a minute to Correct the ship"Omega Yelled ."Strap yourself in, Were landing and it isn't gonna be smooth"

Apollo Strapped himself back into the seat. The Ship's Hull began to flare with a orange highlight. " Ship Is beginning to stabilize, sensors indicate that we're Entering the planet's atmosphere" All Apollo could do was hold the console to brace himself as the ship seemed to try to fling him from his seat, jerking him like a bucking Bronco. "Launching Probes, Standby" Holding the seats arm rest, Apollo shielded his visor as the Ship began to glow red from the reentry. The Ship stopped its spin and the nose arced up to shield the bridge of the ship from the heat. "Well, out of the 25 probes launched, 6 are responding" Omega said with sarcastic enthusiasm "could've been better but under the circumstances, i thi-".

"What Happened" Apollo said, interrupting. "I Don't know"Omega replied, in a snarky tone "Mac went offline before the Hyper Bubble failed and she's not responding, i'm controlling the ship and can't seem to connect to her computer". The ship shifted hard to the left as one of the thrusters activated to slow the ship's descent down. "You'll need to have to reset her system manually". Apollo popped his seat belt off and ran to the bridge's rear door. " wear is she?" apollo muttered grabbing the handlebar to the door struggling to keep his balance inside the shaking ship. "She's a deck down, and two hatches down the passageway on the right". There was a ladderway just to the left of the door. Shifting his hands from handlebar to the ladderway handrails, he moved down. The ship shook again as the ship experienced turbulence, Knocking Apollo's feet from the steps. He slid down, failing to catch any of the next steps, hitting the floor and catching himself on his left knee.

Apollo quickly got himself back up and hurried down the passageway, keeping a hand along the wall to brace himself from the turbulence. Apollo nearly missed the hatch as the ship lurched forward. "You'll need to hurry Apollo, MAC's the only AI onboard that's programmed for this kind of landing". Apollo punched the console to get the door open. The door swung open and Apollo pulled himself in with his hands.

Inside, the room consisted of a huge console linked to the wall taking up the majority of the small room, it was covered in screens,buttons and switches. Panels were blown off revealing the colored wires. Apollo took a knee at the console and surveyed the button layout. After a quick Review, Apollo came to the conclusion that Mac had lost power and didn't properly reset herself after an outage. Pressing a few Keys, Apollo Reset the System. And the Screens Flashed white and MAC's face appeared. Mac had her iconic flight helmet and flight suit that pilots wore on earth in the 21st century. She looked back at Apollo and said happily, "Well how ya doi-"

"Take the Helm Mac, i can't hold her anymore." Omega yelled through the ship intercom.

The Ship Jolted hard and threw Apollo against the the adjacent wall. The Impact was hard enough to send him into a daze. There was a second shock that threw apollo in sudden darkness.

Author Note

(Hey everyone, thanks for reading my first chapter. A bit smaller then i was hoping but i'm hoping to improve my writing skills as this story continues. Of Course, i'm open for people suggestions and criticisms. I've been told my punctuation is pretty terrible so i'm hoping to get someone to review my chapters before i post , thanks again for the read and i hope you enjoy the story to come.)


	2. Chapter 2

There was a flash on Apollo's Visor. Omega had been flashing Apollos HUD, hoping to stimulate him awake. Snapping from the floor, Apollo got on his feet, the first thing he noticed was the rooms orientation, Apollo had to stand at an angle in order to stay balanced. "Status" Apollo ordered into his helm. "Well, we crashed" Mac said as the screens on the consoles flashed on, showing her pilot avatar with her hands on her hips. "Good News is the Solace is in one piece, her correctional thrusters are damaged but that can be easily remedied with a few utility drones, and no hull breaches" She said enthusiastically. "Bad News" Apollo asked. There was a pause "Main Thrusters are beyond repair, and the probes launched before planetary entry, don't have a clue where we are". Apollo held his head, as he felt light headed from standing up too fast.

"Can we get airborne?". "After i fix the correctional thrusters, the Solace could easily leave the planet." Mac said. "But without the main thrusters, it would take weeks to leave this planet's orbit." Apollo left the room and started back to the bridge. The doors opened automatically for Apollo. Exiting the room, he walked back up the passageway. Getting to the ladderway, Apollo groaned silently to himself. The orientation made the ladderway quite literally a ladder. Using the bottom of the metal steps, Apollo gripped them and scaled slowly up the ladder. Getting off was the trickiest part. Using the handrails, Apollo took one of his legs and pushed against it. Sliding his body along the floor, he pushed away from the ladderway until he had enough floor to stand up safely without falling back down.

Getting back on his feet, he walked to the bridge and his visor readjusted for the bright light emitting from the bridges windows. He saw the faint tips of what looked like pine trees. Despite the situation, The view was pleasant. There was a flash from the terminals near the window that snapped Apollo out of his daze."How long was i out" he asked checking the status of the bridges subsystems from the ships control console. "Close to Four Hours" Omega Replied. "Where are we". "Unknown, this planet isn't known on any data-banks". Apollo frowned."so we're in Uncharted space?""Basically, after examining the info the probes have gathered, there might be a possibility that we've altered course. Apollo Tried to remember his last thoughts before the events of the engine failure.

Apollo was part of a special Spartan Project ONI assembled. He remembered entering the bridge and Mac already had the Helm. They were to head to a Starbase to pick up supplies and a crew of scientists familiar with the Top Secret Ship. They were originally supposed to piggyback off a Super Carriers Slip-space Field to the Starbase. ONI however wanted to test the new hyper drive Solace was a specialized Stealth Ship with a Prototype Engine That allowed a unique type of Hyperspace Travel. The Engine's capabilities were beyond Apollo's understanding but what he new is that is was capable of creating a bubble around the ship, this bubble shielded the ship from the harsh effects of inertia and force while the ship could move at hundreds of times faster than the speed of light with ease, This allowed the Ship to have its Stealth Suites operational without having to disable them for Slipstream events.

"Mac, what happened to you up there" Apollo asked, trying to read the scramble of code diagnostics on the console. "Well, We flew into an anomaly. From the data i could gather right before my power failure, I believe we went through a wormhole". Apollo snickered, "all right, and what gave you that conclusion?". Mac replied with excitement. "The bubble propels us using pressure, the ship's uses its gravity generators to propel the bubble, something however put the bubble under an intense amount of pressure and forced us to move at an immeasurable amount of speed. When i tried to compensate for the change, i must of popped the Solaces, Safety's for the reactor, forcing my system to shut down." All Apollo could think about was the humor he found, thinking about the Faces of ONI personnel as they realize that there impatience has cost them their precious Prototype's. The ship contained Prototype drones, Vehicles, Mechs, weapons, AI's And a Spartan. Everything on-board the ship was one of a kind, making it one of the most priceless pieces of equipment in the galaxy. He found such Ironic Happiness in their Failure, Granted he wouldn't have been born if it wasn't for ONI, But they were also responsible for all of his terrible hardships.

Apollo was born from a test tube. He was supposed to be ONI's solution to the Super Soldiers they needed for future Spartan Projects. The Only love he ever experienced in his life was an AI named "Mother". the AI that was responsible for his mental stability as a child. She was implanted into his neural interface at birth. Apollo's Brain was altered to allow Cybernetic connections at the beginning of birth. This, However, had unforeseen consequences. When, he was "hatched" as the ONI scientists said, The Modified Neural Interface interrupted His Brains connection to his eyes. He was simply Blind. Using the Neural interface, they linked his mind to a Virtual Reality system where "Mother" could care for him. "She nurtured him, and gave him the Childhood of a boy born on a Farm. Throughout this fake life, he never met a single person other than Mother. In the Real World, his body was slowly being altered to allow "Prototype" augmentations to be inserted into his body. At the age of seven, he was ripped out of his fake world and implemented into the twisted world Of ONI's Valkyrie Program. He spent the rest of his Life Attached to a Helmet for his sight and Trained him to be the Galaxies Most Deadly assassin.

"Well, I launched a few UAVs and i found something you may want to see" Omega said. Apollo looked up shaking off the thoughts of the past. "Put it on the Main Screen" a Holographic video appeared in front of the window. It showed an overview of a settlement consisting of a couple dozen wooden buildings. It was surrounded by pine trees, and had a small lake on its northern side. Apollo peered closer at the video feed and eyed what looked like a well in the center of the town. He saw People walking around the town with Horses strapped to wagons. "Are thos-"."People" Omega interrupted "Yeah, those are definitely Human's". "The Hell is going on" Apollo said loudly to himself. "Whats interesting though, is the lack of tech." Mac said, putting in her two cents. "All wooden buildings, Horses and wagons for transporting. No source of electricity it looks like"She added.

"How Far is the settlement" Apollo asked. "About 10 klicks South, South West". Apollo Shifted in His stance, the way his feet were resting on the angled floor started to make his ankles ache. "What can you tell me about this planet". "Well if there was ever a planet that could Sister Earth, this is it." Mac said with enthusiastic Joy."She has nearly the same mass, has nearly the exact same environment and her Spin gives her a twenty four point five hour planetary rotation". Apollo Looked for the Helm, He was Fed up trying to stand on the ships angled floor. "Get Comms with ONI, Omega"Apollo said straining his voice as he squeezed into the surprisingly small but luxurious Command Chair. "Mac, get the thrusters up with the on-board Utility Drones and get us planted on flat ground". He said as he put his elbow on the armrest and leaned his head against his closed fist. " Going to try and sleep off this damned headache, Wake me if something comes up". Omega flashed his Hud green to acknowledge his orders.

Apollo preferred AI's over people, the Only People he had ever worked with were the Heartless Scientists of ONI and the few Spartans he participated with In a half a Dozen Wargames. In The Spartan community, he wasn't liked. His Training taught him to rely only on himself and put him in a mind-state of "Mission Before anything Else". He was Delighted at the thought of finally working with Soldiers with his similar talents, but During the Wargame Simulations, He had left Spartans to their Deaths while he pursued to accomplish his objectives. He was always successful, but his lack of teamwork left him excluded from the Spartans, and had also earned him the cruel nickname of "ONI's Pet". He distanced himself more and more as time went by. ONI seemed to notice and pulled him out of the Spartan Wargames program. He Continued his training as a lone wolf, Excluding himself forever away from the other Spartans.

Apollo closed his eyes and nearly fell into a trance when Omega startled him with a flash of his HUD. " I've," Omega paused for a minute, as if trying to find a better way to say bad news. Making a sigh Omega continued " I've found our relative position" . There was a long pause. Omega said nothing until Apollo said "Well". We are currently in The Galaxy Messier 81, better known as Bode's Galaxy". "Oh Shit" Mac said over the ship intercom, surprised by Omega's findings. Apollo wasn't familiar with the distances between galaxies so the impact of the news had very little effect on him. "Which Means" he said, indicating that he didn't have a clue on how that affected things. "Which means the Message i have just sent to Oni's Relative position from us, will take about five million plus years before anyone receives it." Apollo Perked his head up."wait, wait, wait. How far are we from Earth?" Apollo asked, seeming calmer than he thought he should be. "Well, roughly eleven million light years away" Mac said like she was simply answering a simple math question.

There was a long silence on the Bridge. Apollo was staring blankly out the view, into the Blue sky. "Its, Its not possible" he thought to himself. How could a small anomaly, cause such a catastrophic turn of events. Stranded on a planet, and his home, a distance so far, the distance was incomprehensible. Apollo grabbed his helmet and pulled it off his head. He calmly put the Helmet on the control console and stood back up, running his hands in his hair. His frustration was threatening to make him lose his temper. Mac was about to add additional info, but before She could finish her first word, Omega made a Loud chirp from Apollo's helmet, hinting to Mac to silence herself.

Omega knew Apollo fairly well, they had been linked to each other ever since Apollo was pulled from Mother. Stripping Apollo from Mother had caused mental Instability that threatened the Future of The Valkyrie Program. To Remedy the issue, ONI implanted Omega, with the intention of Omega acting as a fatherly figure. To their dismay, Apollo undermined Omega's attempts to asserts his dominance over him, which made them Friends. This, however showed to work to ONI's advantage and they made a few tweaks to increase the performance of their mental link.

Apollo took a deep Breath, The world of Darkness was a calming escape for him. Slowly, he regained his composure. Though, he was blind, he still found the command chair with relative ease and felt for his helmet.

"Looks like that settlement has a few visitors" Omega said through the helmet, as Apollo Latched the ARGUS helmet back on. Putting a small display on Apollo's HUD, Omega displayed a overview of the settlement. Humans on horseback appeared wearing what looked like plate mail, and were all armed with sheathed Long swords. One of the horsemen held a Banner. The yellow banner which was trailed by red tails on the flag, had a Shield guarded by a Lions crest. The men went to one of the larger buildings, which Apollo assumed was some sort of Tavern. If he had questions of the area, this was the only place where he could get solid answers. He gave himself one quick deep breath and made his way to leave the bridge.

"Where are we going", Omega asked puzzled. "We aren't going anywhere, You are helping Mac with Repairs"Apollo Corrected him. Apollo came to the Ladder and simply jumped down to the bottom of the steps, He landed with a loud thud from his boots, and continued down to the ship armory. "where are you going then" Omega asked, shocked. "I'm going down to see if i can find some answers out there". Apollo found the Armory, which was protected by a security console. Apollo, using his index finger to press the numbered buttons, punched in his access code. The Console Flashed green, and the doors flung open. Inside, the armory lights flashed on. The room was relatively large for an armory that was meant for a Squad. Aligned on each wall was an assortment of Rifles, pistols and missile launchers. The entire UNSC arsenal in one, twenty by twenty foot room. Apollo already had an Armament in mind for the operation, Grabbing a DMR, he checked its condition. It was a brand new model, freshly cleaned and with a loaded magazine. Apollo popped it to his back, and the weapon locked itself to his armor.

15 mins passed as Apollo finished his Loadout for his mission. He grabbed an Assault Rifle, A Silenced pistol, 4 Tacpacks strapped to his torso and legs full of magazines. He then fitted himself with a Backpack with basic military necessities. Rations, First Aid and a few other essentials. He put it over the rifles on his back in an attempt to hide them as much as possible, the barrels could still be seen under the backpack, but it would have to work. Apollo grabbed a Woodland Brown Cloak that latched to small segments on his shoulders, hiding his spartan IV armor. He then wrapped the hood over his helmet, only to expose the two Green Eyes of his helmet, obviously for his sights sake. He took a look in The armories mirror. The cloak did a good job hiding his armors features, only exposing the Black armored boots of his armor. Proud of how he hid himself, he walked out of the armory and headed to the nearest docking bay.

He found the same docking door he used to enter the ship before it launched for its journey. Apollo undid his hood and pulled out Omega;s AI Chip out of his helmet and punched it into the doors console's chip slit. Omega quickly, configured himself into the Ship's functions and opened the door. Apollo knew Omega disagreed on him leaving without him, but Omega knew that arguing with Apollo had never ended in his favor. Once Apollo set himself on an Objective, there was no turning back. "If you need anything, set your distress beacon" Omega said. "I'll take one of the Warthogs to your position". Apollo looked at the console with a grin. "Don't worry about me, Just get this thing sitting on its gears properly". The console Flashed green.

Apollo looked down, out the door. It was a ten foot drop to the snow covered grass. With an effortless jump, Apollo landed on his feet and started his trek to the forward end of the ship. Looking over the vessel, the ship looked to have received little, if not any damage on the forward end. The Solace was A small Ship, only measuring with the length of 300 feet long, and 100 in height, she could barely classify herself as a shuttle. Apollo reached the nose and began South from there. Wrapping his Helmet again with the hood, he started off into the green pine tree woods.


	3. Chapter 3

It took Apollo a little over an hour to get through the woods. The way there, he found that the wildlife was pretty similar to Earth. He spotted a few deer not too far from the ship. The only difference was there size. Standing up, these deer could reach 8 feet tall, and from what Apollo could guess, maybe be the weight of 500 to 600 pounds. Other than a few birds and smaller wildlife, That was the only animal worth to note, he encountered.

Finally reaching the most Northern part of the lake, Apollo could see the small village. The little town was bustling with life. There were three people hanging by the lake, With baskets full of fish. Up from the water's edge was a few log houses. Families and kids scurried about playing and doing their daily chores. All, but the small streets of the town were covered in snow.

Apollo's main priority was looking for some type of security. The town seemed to have no type of protection. No guards or watch towers. Walking along the lake, Apollo followed the edge of the water to the town. Finding a road close to the lake that lead to the town, Apollo shifted to it, Hoping that the village would see him as just a traveler. The town's road was muddy and seemed to cling to's Apollo's boots as he tried to traverse it. Staying just to the side of the Road, Apollo continued down it. Just in front of the town was a wagon, The wheels seemed to be deeply rooted into the muddy road. The horse pulling the Wagon was clearly agitated as he struggled to keep his hooves from sinking into the mud. There was an older man by the wagon, wearing a thick black fur coat. The man quickly turned his head to look at Apollo. His Face showed a long Grey beard, mangled and unkempt. The man's face seem to brighten as Apollo approached. "Excuse me sir" The old man shouted to Apollo. "Would you mind Helping a poor old sod like me".

Apollo stopped in his tracks, surprised to hear the man speak English. "Oh come on now" The man bellowed. "You Speak English?"Apollo asked, slightly quieter than he anticipated. "What" The old man shouted as he put his hand to his ear. "Bah, forget it, i'll just get a a few youngsters from the town." Apollo, a little annoyed that the old man ignored his question, headed to the Wagons rear end. With a grin, the old man met Apollo at the back of the trailer. "Well, i've got quite the stock of furs in here",The old man said as he patted the blanket covering his cargo."I'll go get a few more bodies to hel-", "There's no need" Apollo said interrupting the man, as he gripped the wooden bumper of the trailer. " The man was taken aback as Apollo lifted the rear of the wagon off its wheels. The man quickly regained himself and stumbled to the front. He grabbed the horse's reins and pulled towards the town. Apollo took a few steps forward before letting go of the wagon, ensuring it would clear the hole in the road. "Woah, Woah" the Old man shouted, stopping and calming the horse as he stroked its mane. "Will that suffice sir" Apollo shouted, heading to the front of the trailer. "Yes, Yes, I'm Gla-".

The old man turned to see the Giant robed man. Apollo's standing straight up measured seven feet tall, which Apollo thought is what startled the old man." You, your eyes, are you a mage" He asked, in a weary voice. Oh My-, No sir, it's my helmet is all". The reflection of the bright snow was making Apollo's visor appear to glow, something Apollo didn't think to account for. The man gave him a brief look over. "Hmm, must be dwarven gear" he said quietly to himself. The man reached in his pocket and held out 5 gold pieces. "None of my business though, here, I always pay my debts, take this, your lodging is on me sir". Apollo gently plucked the coins out of the man's hand, ensuring his hand was hidden under the cloak, only to expose his fingers. "Safe to say your not from these parts, am i right"The man asked. Apollo gave a small chuckle, "You could say that, Do you know the name of this place". "Oh, well this is Crale, Its a troubled town but it has good hard working people". Apollo looked to the small village"what kind of trouble". "It's not Important" The man said waving his hand to change the subject. "Allow me to introduce myself" he said giving a small head bow. "I'm Gorval the Fur Trader, I have traveled throughout the lands ensuring the people are well prepared for the winter, though it is coming to an end in a few days it seems". "The names Apollo" "Ah, A unusual Name, but It suits you" The man said with a smile. So what brings you to Crale". "Trying to get some Information". The man had already turned around and began scaling the wagons wheel to sit on the wagons bench. " well" the man said reaching for his horse's reins. "I'd tell you more but i need to sell a few more furs before the end of the day, Head to the Tavern in town, I'm sure they have a few people there that can tell you all you need". The man whipped the reins and the horse trotted forward into town with the wagon.

Apollo's first impressions of the town was the amount of mud. Apollo understood that it was unavoidable due to the current weather, but what surprised Apollo was the fact that the townsfolk seemed to pay no mind to it. Apollo continued through the town surprisingly unnoticed. The small town was bustling with people zipping buy, getting there daily necessities done. The people were handling furs, moving bags of what Apollo guessed was wheat and grains onto wagons, cutting wood for their fireplaces, and a bunch of other things. Apollo found the entire thing quite refreshing. No one was looking at him through a glass wall, examining his every move. Here, he was just a stranger that wandered in. What Apollo saw that was the most gratifying was the children. The kids were tossing snowballs that were mostly composed of mud, at each other. They were happy, an emotion Apollo never got to see often. One of the children spotted Apollo and his smile quickly disappeared. Apollo quickly looked away and pushed the hood forward more to conceal his Glowing green eyes from his helmet. "Poor kid probably thinks i'm a monster" Apollo thought. With a quick shake of his head, Apollo refocused on getting to the Tavern.

Finding it was no Trouble, It was a large wood cabin, Its front had a small Bench by its front door. Just to its side was a corral big enough to store four horses, which was full. Entering the cabin, Apollo stopped to view his surroundings. The establishment had wooden tables and benches spread around the room, they were all empty, which was understandable. Observing the day on the way here, Apollo was able to figure out that it was just after noon. At the end of the room was a wooden Bar with a grizzled man wiping the counter with a rag. "Meryll, We have a guest" The man yelled, in a disgruntled tone. From one of the doors, A girl came out, "I'm coming you old wart" The girl yelled at the bartender, quickly trotting to Apollo. The man gave her a quick look of scorn. The girl ignored him and continued towards Apollo. The girl seemed barely over the age of sixteen, and was wearing a quite revealing white dress that was slightly tattered. Over the dress, she had a brown fur wrapped loosely over her shoulders and had her blonde hair made into a loose ponytail. "Welcome to the Drunken Stag sir" she said looking up at Apollo. She began to reach for Apollo's Cloak. "Let me just take th-". Apollo took a step back and intercepted her hand before it could touch the cloak. "That won't be necessary mam, but thank you". The girl was surprised by Apollo's quick reflexes, But Her eyes Widened as she saw the armored hand that had a loose grip of her wrist. Realizing he had revealed too much, Apollo quickly withdrew his hand back under the cloak. " The girl, quickly looked back at Apollo's face. Apollo didn't have to worry about his visor anymore due to the terribly torch lit room. "Well, are you needing a drink sir or are you here for lodging?". "I'm actually in need of some information". :Ah, well that's Allwyns profession." She said pointing at the Bartender. "If you need any help taking the plate off your armor, you can just ask for me, would love to see what's hiding under the cloak". Ignoring the flirt, Apollo gave his thanks and walked to the Bar. "Didn't take a liking to Meryll, well she'll warm up to ya eventually. Allwyn said as Apollo took a seat on the bars quite sturdy stools. "I'm sure she will". "So what brings you here sir".

Apollo explained to Allwyn that he came fairly far north and had been living on his own, and needed information about the area. Reluctantly, Allwyn answered Apollo's questions in return for renting a room. Apollo agreed and gave the man the gold he earned from the fur trader. The Land of Arlen was comprised of Four kingdoms that were ruled by four Kings. The kings Formed a Union called The Lions Bond and ruled the kingdoms together. Their rule was cruel from what information Apollo gathered. Slavery, as Allwyn explained was frowned upon by the majority of the kingdom but was still legal. The King that ruled over The land that Crale was a part of, was ruled by King Mullian. His rule was hated by the people. However the king was well known to kill anyone that threatened his reign, preventing most uprisings.

Looking out the window, Apollo saw the sun begin setting behind the tree lines. Well, i think it's time for a small rest". Apollo said as he started for the room he bought for the night. "If you are needing any company, Meryll is free." Allwyn said. "That's generous but im too tired" Apollo retorted. "Have a good night then" Allwyn shouted before Apollo could shut his door. The room had a small bed which had a straw mattress and fur sheets. A small window was the only source of light which revealed horses from the Tavern's corral. There was also a small stool by the window. Apollo had no intention of staying overnight. Sometime during the night, he could start his way back to the ship. The UAVs and Drones Omega had launched should have had enough time to map out the area and point out more Points of Interest.

Taking a seat, Apollo popped off his pack and grabbed a nutri-bar from his pack. He unwrapped the food and removed his helm just enough to shove the bar into his mouth. "Bland as ever" he thought to himself. With a sigh, he reattached his helmet and hood and closed his eyes. "Well, it beats Sanghelios" Apollo thought to himself. He rested his back against the wall and quickly fell into a soft slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Apollo awoke to hear what sounded like yelling coming from outside. There was a screech from a child coming from outside. Apollo turned and peeked through the window to see if he could see the commotion. All he could see was the horses clearly disturbed by the activity outside. It was dark out, close to midnight Apollo was a loud snapping noise that sounded like a cracking of a whip and it was quickly followed by another scream. Standing up from the chair, Apollo took his M6 pistol and brought it up, close to his chest, making sure it remained hidden under the cloak. Apollo opened his room door slowly. As he eyed the room he found it was empty, but the front door to the tavern was open. Apollo quickly scanned the room and began his approach to the door. Behind a table, near the entrance of the tavern, Allwyn laid face down on the floor. Apollo cautiously approached and took a knee by Allwyn's body. Slowly flipping his body, careful not to cause further harm, Apollo found a small gash in Allwyn's head but he was breathing. Apollo pushed Allwyn carefully under the table and made his way to the door. With his pistol staying close to his chest, apollo walked out of the tavern and shut the door behind him. What Apollo saw next, It froze him to the core

Outside was a group of armored men rounding up the people of the town. They wore what looked like leather padding for protection and covered their faces with black and brown hoods. Most of the men held torches to aid their search through the night. Four of the men were on foot and were dragging people from their homes into the group. Four more Men armed with swords and whips, on horseback, were slashing or whipping anyone who attempted to resist. The people screamed and shouted at their perpetrators as they beat them. One of the men closest to Apollo had a young girl held by the hair, violently tugging as if to rip her hair out. To Apollo's Terror, he saw that the girl was Meryll. she was covered in blood and tears were rolling down her face.

Never in Apollo's experience's, had he seen this. He only knew humans to fight together against a common enemy. He heard of the wars of old, But he thought that the Battle against the Covenant and the flood would always keep them united. Never, had it crossed his mine that he would witness this terrible part of Humanity, Apollo felt an anger build within him. It was an anger that made Apollo dangerous. This anger is what made him the heartless killer ONI made him to be.

Apollo quickly approached the man who now had hands on Meryll's face, squeezing her cheeks for amusement. By the time the man saw Apollo, Apollo's hand was already around his throat. Apollo Lifted the man off his feet with ease. The man tried to breath but was only able to make a loud gritty gasping sound. "Let them go," Apollo said in the deepest tone he could. His Helmets Speaker amplified his voice. As his voice echoed through the town,it became dead quiet. He could see he had struck shock into the men as they saw there comrade being hoisted and choked. The choking man struggled to get Apollo's Hand, attempting to claw at his attackers armored arm.

A horseman armed with a whip lashed it at Apollo. The whip snapped and caught Apollos cloak. The whip had no effect as it struck Apollo's chest. With haste, One of the men on foot drew a bow and fired an arrow at Apollo, the arrow struck and shattered against Apollo's Helmet. "Very well" Apollo said and squeezed the Choking man's neck until loud audible pops could be heard. The man went limp and Apollo dropped him. Apollo quickly drew his pistol at the man that had the bow. Once Apollo's arm leveled out to aim at the attacker, his cloak shifted over his shoulders and revealed his Armor.. The man was already drawing another arrow but before the man could take aim with the bow, Apollo fired. The round struck the man center mass. The 12.7mm round made a 3 inch hole and splattered the man's innards all over the snow. People screamed in terror as the man dropped to his knees and fell to his side.

The men on foot were quick to react, and charged Apollo, swords swinging towards him. Apollo made quick work of the men, Dropping all the men before they could even get into striking distance. The men on Horseback witnessed there men fall and hesitated on what to do next. "I will give you one more chance" Apollo said looking at the frightened men."Leave or suffer the same fate of your comrades". Apollo leveled his pistol at the closest horsemen. Once again the town was dead quiet. Apollo fought his drive to end the Horsemen's life. Apollo straightened his trigger finger along the upper receiver, To help prevent the urge of shooting.

"We'll Leave" One of the men yelled on horseback "but we will be back for your head, Mage" he yelled. The brave man made a quick yip to his horse and quickly galloped away, followed by the other horsemen. Apollo watched, ensuring that they left before he did anything else.

It was a long minute before any of the townspeople did anything. After Apollo judged that the Slavers had left and the situation was much safer, Apollo lowered and holstered his pistol, he took a glance at the people. They stared at him with wide eyes. It was only for a moment. A few of the children began to cry from the pains inflicted on them. The townsfolk began to get on there feet, and began to tend to the wounded. Meryll was the first to approach Apollo. Her face was badly bruised but there were no marks. Meryll's face was dire. "Where's Allwyn" she asked as tears rolled slowly down her face. "Hes ok, hes in the tavern under-".Before he could finish Meryll ran off to see Allwyn.

Gorval emerged from the group of people and slowly made his way to Apollo. "You,... are you?" Gorval stuttered as he approached Apollo. "What are you, Apollo?". Gorval's face was covered in scratches and drops of blood was splattered around his face. As he approached, Gorval began to lose his footing through the mud. Apollo reached Gorval's arm to prevent him from falling. "Is everyone okay" Apollo asked. "Yes, you didn't give the slavers time to pick on who they were going to take". Gorval began to brush some of the mud off of his furs."Bastards will be back though, you can be sure of that". Most of the people in the town had headed back to their homes. "I feel you have only doomed this town Apollo" Gorval said looking back at the now very dark and quiet town. "When will they be back" Apollo asked.""Most likely tomorrow, and with great numbers." Gorval looked back at Apollo. "They will be back with many men Apollo".

"Then i will wait". Apollo said looking back where the slavers left the town. "You will need help, I will fetch some of the peo-" "No" Apollo interrupted Gorval. "If you want to help, tell the people to stay in their homes until i have dealt with them". Gorval grumbled quietly "Then what will i do when they attack" Apollo looked back at Gorval. "Stay in the tavern, get in one of the rooms and stay there until it's safe". Gorval went grave in the face but he nodded to Apollo and set off to the homes to warn the people.

Apollo spent the next 15 mins looking for a vantage point in the city that would give him the most coverage of the roads and entrances to the town. The tavern was the solution and its roof was made of Logs which could support his weight. Apollo rested a knee on the angled roof and eyed the town. The streets were empty, There wasn't a soul outside of their home. There were dim lights coming from most of the houses, and all but one window was empty. Directly across the tavern, A boy stared out the window directly at Apollo. It was the same Boy that looked at him from earlier. Apollo had a small smile under his helmet. The boy reminded Apollo of his time with Mother.

He remembered how much time he spent staring at the stars out the window of his home. Of course it was all a simulation, but Apollo didn't know that at the time. The little house in the middle of nowhere was all he knew. He remembered how he hated being in a small house away from everything. There was one particular night that stuck in his memory though. Mother took a seat by him that night, and gazed up with him. She was always wearing her blue dress with flowers and had her long dark brown hair draped down to her hips."One day" she said "One day you will go out there and do incredible things". Apollo looked to Mother, "But when mom, when will i leave". Mother smiled and gave a quiet laugh. "Soon son, very soon".

The young Boy looking at Apollo, raised his hand up and gave a small wave. Apollo returned the gesture with a small head nod. The boy smiled and quickly left the window, It snapped Apollo back into reality, He looked back at the roads that lead to the town entrances. His visor picked up no movement from the trees outside the town. He reached for his Assault Rifle and held it under his cloak. He held his Rifle, gripping the handguard tightly. Standing his watch, Apollo waited for the men and their reinforcements. If they did return, Apollo was going to show them the might of a Spartan.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The sun finally emerged from the mountain side, fully risen above the crests of the mountains, late in the morning. Apollo senses were still strong. It had been a long night, but Apollo was used to an extended amount of hours without sleep. All of the townsfolk remained in their homes through the morning.

There was a small hint of doubt in Apollo's mind if whether he should have gotten involved. If ONI was to find out of this instigation from Apollo, they would surely court martial him for putting himself and the ship at risk of being discovered. Apollo didn't care though, because deep down, he knew that the distance between two galaxies was even more Than the great Covenant could reach.

Apollo's HUD began to flash. Seismic activity was being given off from the Southern part of town on Apollo's Motion Tracker. Apollo got up to his feet and pulled the DMR from his back. He shouldered the weapon under his cloak and surveyed the intruders. Apollo could watched a group of men that were on horseback riding to the town. They all wore mismatching clothes and armor and there weapons were just as organized. Apollo couldn't notice anything to give away a group leader. It only took the horseman a few seconds to reach the town from the cover of the woods. They rode into town slowing their pace And eyeing Apollo as he looked down back at them. The horsemen came to a stop as they reached The tavern Apollo was Atop of.

"Hello Mage" One of the Men called out to Apollo. The man wore a full Plate Mail of armor, his entire head, excluding his face, was covered in chainmail and had a large Sword strapped to his back. Apollo gave a small nod to return the greeting.

"Are you the one that has caused my men all the trouble?" Apollo nodded again.

"Well I can't tolerate that" he said in a gentle tone.

"Then Leave" Apollo replied. Some of the men were startled by the comment. The Armored Man simply laughed.

"I was going to offer you the same mage" he said.

"What will you do if i leave" Apollo asked.

"Well take some of these people with us" The man said calmly and in an uplifting tone.

"And if i stay". Some of the soldiers now chuckled at this response except for the Armored man.

"Then we kill you, then we'll take some of the strong and kill the rest".Apollo slowly drew his rifle at the closest horsemen.

"surely you don't think you can take on a small army, no mage could take us on no matter how powerful".

Apollo had heard enough, a quick trigger pull and a round went through the closest slavers chest. The impact of the round sent the man spinning off his horse. The sound of Apollo's rifle discharging sent the horses into a frenzy. Most of the horses began bucking and flung the majority of the soldiers off their saddles. Apollo took advantage of the situation and began eliminating the slavers. Some of the men managed to keep control of their horses and were the first to be eliminated. The more rounds Apollo pumped out, the more agitated and crazed the horses became, Apollo ensured to conserve his ammo, making sure to only fire one round into each target, only a few of the men needed an extra round to be put down. By the time Apollo had exhausted his magazine, the horses began to disperse. And the remaining men took advantage of the pause of gunfire to find cover. Watching the men, Apollo loaded his Rifle with a fresh magazine, The majority of the slavers rushed the tavern and barged through its doors, Apollo scanned the area for more of the hostiles. Most of the horses now, had run off out of town, some continued bucking in place and sometimes landing there hooves on the dead men in the seeing any more of the men on the streets, Apollo jumped down from the roof.

When Apollo landed, his motion tracker began to pick up the men inside the tavern. Two of the men had taken position on both sides of the doorway, Apollo detached his cloak. In a fight that was going to be at point blank, the cloak would lead to problems. Apollo had the upper hand in this encounter. Using the motion tracker, Apollo shouldered his rifle and approached the door for a breach.

As he Approached the door, Apollo lifted his right leg and smashed the hinge end of the door. The door flew off, smashing into a table at the far end. As Apollo entered, his rifle was already on the man to his left. The Slavers eyes widened before Apollo pumped a round into the mans neck. The Slaver to Apollo's right was quick to react and swung his club wide. The Mace smashed into the side of Apollo's rifle. The impact had no effect on Apollo. The violent clash of metal on metal forced the slaver to drop his weapon. Apollo pivoted his rifle into the man and pulled the trigger. "Click". The Rifle cycled but failed to fire a round. In a situation against the covenant, this usually meant death. Apollo was quick to remedy the situation by ramming the rifle's barrel into the man's head with enough force to penetrate bone. There was a loud crunch as the barrel punctured the mans skull. Apollo had already reached for his sidearm with his freehand as he let go of the rifle. Suddenly, the Rifle went off inside the mans head. The weapon remained in the man's head as he fell. The six remaining men now charged at Apollo, seeing that his weapon had fallen. Screaming with Anger, the men Charged Apollo's Position with weapons raised. The men were only arm lengths apart from each other. The Silenced pistol quickly put an end to the men's banter. They were dispatched before they could even get to Apollo.

With a quick sweep of the room, Apollo moved room to room, clearing them of any stragglers. All the rooms Apollo encountered were unlocked and empty. The last door however was locked. Weapon drawn, he pushed the door open with ease, snapping the doors lock like a twig.

Meryl was there, dagger pointing and ready for a fight while Allwyn laid resting from his wounds from earlier. Tears were sliding down Meryl's face, Eyes were wide with terror. "are you okay" Apollo asked. She didn't answer. " Stay here, its not safe yet" Apollo said and shut the door. He wish he could say more but the area wasn't secure yet. It was clear that any intruders that came in were dealt with or were no longer there. Apollo was about to head out, when there was a loud scream outside. Apollo quickened his pace out the entrance, grabbed his Rifle and quickly cycled a round out of the reciever, A casing flew out of the round with a small dent in the rear. A round going off with a delay was usually the cause of a bad round and was extremely rare. Apollo assumed to be from the hard strike from the Mace, but if the round was to blame, then the Rifle should be okay. When Apollo walked out of the lodge, Two people, stood in the middle of the street. A young lady was being held by the Armored Slaver that spoke to him earlier. Using the girl as a shield, he held her neck with his Arm and held a dagger close to her side, ready to stab her in the gut. "Don't move mage" The man yelled. His face was distraught with Anger and panic. "Or i'l gut this bitch like the vermin she is". Spit flew out of his mouth with the last words he yelled. Apollo's weapon was already raised at the man when he walked out the door. Apollos Helmet had already sighted him with the rifle, but Apollocame up with an idea. Apollo lowered his rifle and dropped it on the floor and did the same with his pistol.

"I have no intentions of killing you"

The man gave a small step back as Apollos low but deep voice as it echoed through the town.

"I need you to give a message to whoever has hired you"

"And what is that, Mage" The man seemed to yell the last word in an accusing manner.

"Let go of the girl, and you will not be harmed".

The man was about to make a remark, but Apollo quickly spoke.

"If you so much as scratch her, You won't make it far"

Once again Apollo's voice Spoke even Deeper as he muttered that last few words. Apollo was establishing control by simply Talking in a calm and cool manner, never raising his voice, Apollo wanted to shout in Anger at this man, but a mishap could end the girls life. But the man was clearly already frightened. Shaking, the man released his grip from the girl. The girl bolted into a house nearby, and The slaver dropped his Dagger in defeat.

"Well, I've done as you've asked."

Apollo wasted no time, and quickly closed the gap between him and the slaver.

The man started to back up in fear for his life. in his panic, his legs couldn't keep up with his retreat, forcing him to fall backwards onto his back. Instead of getting up, the man crawled backwards, kicking his legs frantically to move faster. But Apollo was already above him. Apollo Grabbed the man by his collar and lifted him off his feet. In order to keep a grip on the man, Apollo had to squeeze the man's armor, crushing the plate mail. The Man screamed as there was a loud crack from bone cracking.

"Don't ever come back" Apollo said, again keeping a calm voice.

"If anyone does" Apollo gave a pause and brought the man closer to his face.

"I'll come for you".

The man nodded his head frantically in understanding. Apollo dropped him, and the slaver fell onto his knees. He quickly got up and ran for a nearby horse. It took the man three attempts to get onto the horse, his broken arm limp by his body, and when he finally managed to seat himself properly, he looked back at the spartan. Apollo's gaze never left the man. With a hard kick, The man yelled at his horse and they bolted out of the city. Apollo kept his eye on the man,ensuring he left without incident.

When the man left, Apollo quickly snatched up his Rifle and pistol and holstered them. The only thing that could be heard was the beating of hooves from the horse, but it quickly faded as it got farther into the woods. Apollo looked around to see the destruction he caused. The road was littered with bodies. Blood had began to soak into the snow, making the seen even darker. Apollo's visor quickly assessed all of the bodies and came up with no survivors. Every man that Apollo shot had either died the moment the round hit them, or bled out quickly from their wounds, which wasn't surprising. After all, the rounds he was using were designed with the covenant in mind. These rounds were built for Armor and shield penetration against Brutes and Elites, and being able to inflict the most damage possible, against there thick, durable skin and organs. Even the SMG's he had were, in a sense "Overkill"

Apollo could hear an old familiar sound In the distance. He made out the sound quickly, A Warthog was approaching. People were about to leave their homes to investigate.

Apollo quickly turned on his comm unit. Usually every Spartan kept an open comm channel with there squad or units, But Apollo preferred the Lonewolf style of warfare, he always kept his off with the exception of Priority Channels. A Spartan was taught to be able to adapt to any adversary and challenge presented to them, however the UNSC always liked to multimanage every tiny detail of an operation. Apollo never liked that way of management so ONI always kept things simple during FIRETEAM exercises. It was simple for him, Go find Target and kill it. Whatever Apollo ran into during the mission, Apollo dealt with in his own way. But the goal was always to accomplish the objective, anything else was dealt with, Apollo's way.

When Apollo's comm's flipped on, he could he heard to Rapid Beeps play over and over. It was Omega trying to get ahold of Apollo, and It was Omega's go to when needing a response from Apollo without giving away information over comm's.

"Artemis" Apollo said

"Huntress" Omega responded, answering the code word in a disgruntled voice

"Next time you decide to leave, I'm locking your radio in Active mode,Sit Rep plz." Omega's warthog could be seen blazing through the muddy road. The Warthog was a completely different design. It had a six wheel chassis, and a longer bed that had a closed Heightened cabin,above the cabin was a small weapon mount carrying two belt fed SAW's, which were being controlled by Omega. The weapon mount spun wildly around the vehicle, searching for targets, The Hood was also mounted with a circular camera the size of a basketball that moved freely on the hood which allowed AI's to use the vehicles without the need of a person.

"Ran into some trouble here, do me a favor and approach the city slower, don't want to Spook the locals" Apollo said through the comm's. Omegas warthog came through the the town and began to slow , maneuvering around the bodies as it came up to Apollo, The camera rotated and looked at the bodies. "Just some, huh" Omega responded saying over the Vehicle speaker. When the vehicle stopped, people began to look out there doors and windows at the Warthog. Omega looked back. "There's a full medical suite in this Vehicle if anyone needs Medical assistance" Omega said using the vehicle speaker again. Apollo looked at the Camera on the vehicle and gave a quick finger tap on his helmet, signaling Omega to only communicate privately. Omega complied with two green flashes using a small light by the camera. Apollo went to the back of the vehicle. The back of the vehicle had two large doors which were locked by a passcode box. "Apollo punched in his access code and the doors opened by themselves. The inside revealed a stockpile of supplies near the forward end of the small compartment and an Arsenal of Weapons mounted along the walls. Directly center was a small bench, easily capable of seating four marines or one injured personnel. "What kind of Warthog is this" Apollo asked inspecting the weapons. You are looking at the Longhorn MK-1" Omega said proudly, first of her kind and able to supply a Full Squad for a week, or you for a month". Apollo opened one of the Medical bags on the side of the cabin, There was definitely enough medical supplies for a few squads, or even a small town. When Apollo looked back up, he could see a few of the townsfolk began to search some of the dead bodies. Some began to gather around the Longhorn,eyes wide and curious, they investigated the vehicle from a distance. Apollo was pulling some of the bandages out when Gorval approached him. For all quickly stepped to the Longhorn and rubbed his hand along the side of the body.

"By the gods, A horseless chariot" Gorval whispered to himself

"Gorval, I need you to see if anyone is injured" Apollo said, sorting out the bandages.

Gorval snapped out of his trance and looked back at Apollo.

"You….Why" Gorval asked, mouth agape

"Just ask Gorval, please" Apollo said looking back at him

Gorval's mouth closed and a small grin emerged. He turned around and looked to the townsfolk. Half of the village had circled around the Longhorn. Gorval began walking around to the people and asked for any injured to come up to Apollo. Most of the people were hesitant, but as Gorval started to motion the people to Apollo, they slowly krept closer to the Longhorn. The first was a man, a large cut was visible across his arm. Apollo took the mans arm and laid it flat along the bed of the longhorn. "This is going to burn but it will prevent infection" Apollo warned the man and wiped the wound with an alcohol pad. The wound seemed to open a little more so Apollo broke out a stitch stapler and a numbing pen out of the Longhorn.

"The wound needs to be closed" Apollo said and pulled out the numbing pen. Apollo applied the end of the tool directly on the wound and clicked the red button on the end. The Pen punched the wound with a needle and quickly retracted. The man jolted but made no fuss. Apollo then quickly took the wound and pinched it while his other hand stapled the wound closed. "Alright, don't remove these staples, when your wound has healed, they will fall out". Apollo took a bandage and quickly wrapped it up.

"Keep it covered for a few days and don't do anything that might open it up".

When the bandage was finally wrapped, the man lifted his arm and examined the bandage. "Thank you" the man said looking back to Apollo and quickly wen't back to the others.

After that, the people began to come up to Apollo with there wounded. There were no critical patients,the majority were only bruises and small cuts that only needed a few stitches. Apollo spent the next hour helping the wounded. Meryl finally appeared with Allwyn as his arm drooped over her shoulder for support. Apollo quickly relieved Meryl and helped Allwyn. Allwyn was conscience but seemed dazed and out of it. Apollo quickly helped him up on the bed.

"This man has a Serious Concussion Apollo, he's going to need more medical attention than we can provide."Omega said.

"What about t-"

"We can't" Omega said, interrupting Apollo

"These people can't come aboard a top secret Warship Apollo."

"Do we have the right equipment?" Apollo asked.

There was a brief pause before Omega spoke quietly "No".

Apollo grabbed a packet of Motrin and handed it to Meryl. "Get him back to his bed and make him swallow one of these whole with a glass of water, give him one every half day until I come back"

Apollo looked back to the town, everyone that needed medical help had left and all that remained were people eyeing the Longhorn. Apollo asked out to the people if anyone else needed medical attention but no one replied. "Gorval quickly emerged from the group and approached Apollo. "What will you do now" Gorval asked.

"I need to get supplies for some of these people, some of them need more medical attention than I can provide."

Gorval face lit up with a grin. "Well, the Kings guards should be coming soon, there's no way that a group of slavers like that could get around unnoticed. You are a good man Apollo, a savior of the little people". Gorval held out his hand. "It was an absolute pleasure"

Apollo gently shook Gorvals hand.

"So what will you do now Gorval" Apollo asked

"Well, my horse is still of good health and the wagon is light now since most of the furs have been said with a heavy sigh.

"But i will head back to the mountains and continue on after you leave. Perhaps we'll run into each other again."

"Perhaps" Apollo said.

Apollo shut the cabin doors of the Longhorn.

As Apollo got into the drivers seat, Omega started the engine back up. The vehicle was completely autonomous. It had a steering wheel but it moved itself thanks to Omega. The engine revved loudly and peeled out of the mud, turning around and heading back through the road it came from.

 **Sorry for the long wait for some of you, its been one hell of a ride for me and I definitely dropped the ball on you guys. Hope you enjoy, and are looking forward to reading the next chapter of Apollo's tale.**


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